PROSECUTOR BOJANA SAVOVIĆ: “Alta Bank Was Used to Launder This Country’s Illegal Money; TOK Has Opened a Case!”

Prosecutor Bojana Savović said she feels no sympathy for Alta Bank, whose operating license was revoked by the National Bank of Serbia overnight. She also added that she has information that the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) already had a case opened some time ago involving the bank’s director and owner.

The case of Alta Bank is one example of how everything is happening and collapsing faster than anyone expected, Savović believes, adding that she is very pleased with the rapid developments.

“I have no particular sympathy for that bank. That bank was more or less used to launder this country’s illegal money, and I don’t think anyone feels empathy for it. It cannot be treated like any other bank,” the N1 interviewee said.

Savović also revealed that she has information that TOK already had a case opened some time ago involving the bank’s director and owner.

NEĆE VIŠE MOĆI DA PREBACUJU PRLJAVI NOVAC: Narodna banka Srbije oduzela dozvolu za rad Alta banci!

“A letter was sent from that prosecutor’s office to the NBS and the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, and I think all of that has borne fruit,” the prosecutor said.

Changes in the Judiciary Begin with the High Prosecutorial Council

Commenting on indications that employees of public institutions may testify about the destruction of documents, prosecutor Bojana Savović warned that even an attempt to destroy official documentation is a criminal offense.

“There are still honorable people in all these institutions who will inform us, and are informing us, about what is happening. We receive information every day from the security services, the police, and all state authorities. Conscientious, good people report things and document them, which is why I advise everyone else not to take part in unlawful activities and not to commit criminal offenses,” Savović said.

Speaking about the Alta Bank case, the work of the prosecution, and the “Canopy” case, she assessed that certain investigations are now moving forward after having been stalled, but that the key to changes in the judiciary lies in changes within the High Prosecutorial Council.

Were They Not Allowed to, or Did They Not Want to?

Savović says that, for the first time, a Commission of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office has been established and has contacted chief public prosecutors with what she described as almost a list of cases that the public had already known were problematic.

She adds that prosecutors in those offices are now in an uncomfortable position because they may be asked two questions: whether prosecutors were not allowed to work on certain cases, or whether they simply did not want to.

“The more they do now, the more they show what they could have done five days ago but did not. This is problematic because either you are showing that you knew about certain information but did not want to act or were not allowed to. Or you did not know, even though the entire public knew, in which case you are incapable and incompetent to hold that position,” the N1 interviewee believes.

Savović says she expects many cases to now move rapidly forward from the standstill they are currently in, and that some prosecutors have found the courage and confidence to act.

On the other hand, she warns that there will always be prosecutors who seek to ingratiate themselves with every new government that comes to power.

KO JE DAVOR MACURA, VLASNIK ALTA BANKE KOJOJ JE NBS ODUZELA DOZVOLU ZA RAD? Povezan sa SNS-om, ima široku mrežu poslova u Srbiji!

Nenad Stefanović Failed to Follow the Order

The N1 interviewee believes that the “Canopy” case is particularly controversial because the Supreme Public Prosecutor referred it to TOK, but Supreme Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović did not act on that order.

“All this time, we have had institutions that remain silent. The High Prosecutorial Council, even though this is a clear disciplinary violation, has never taken a single action against Nenad Stefanović,” Savović said, adding that she believes the key to changes in the judiciary lies in changes within the High Prosecutorial Council.

She points out that prosecutors are now also examining the case involving the break-in at the Rectorate, as well as the case of Milan Radoičić.

The Right to Truthful Reporting

Bojana Savović previously stated that the domestic prosecution could investigate the transfer of ownership of the company under which N1 operates. She explained that, under the Constitution, the state is obliged to protect the media for citizens, as they have the right to timely and truthful information.

“The prosecution can certainly, with the assistance of international legal cooperation, contact those authorities, obtain any judgments in proceedings being conducted there, and then examine them as a potential predicate criminal offense to determine where the money flows are going and whether the money being invested here is dirty, and what it is being used for,” Savović concluded.